Rabbi Levin's Blog

“You shall not act on the basis of omens or lucky hours.”  “You shall not turn to [the sorcery of] Ov or Yid'oni” (forms of sorcery used to communicate with the dead).  These are just two of the Mitzvot in this week’s double Parsha, alongside “do not steal”, “do not withhold wages,” “do not embarrass anyone publicly,” “love your fellow” and many other person-to-person Mitzvot. The Mitzvot relating to sorcery and omens and psychic practices, etc., are always important, but they are especially relevant today.  There is a great spiritual awakening in our generation, and many people are seeking enlightenment and meaning in life.   I often hear about all kinds of new and imaginative practices which attempt to fill this need.  Some sound really good, and sometimes sound similar to Kabbalah, but they are rooted in idol-worship.  Spirituality is at the core of Judaism, yet the Torah warns us in the Parsha called “Kedoshim” – “Holy,” to stay away from practices...

  It sounds pretty harsh!  A person gets a white mark on their skin, and has to live in solitary confinement outside the town until it goes away.  That is one of the main themes of the double Parsha we read this week, Tazria and Metzora.  Perhaps because the early translators of the Torah did not study the Oral Torah, or maybe just ignored it, they translated tzara’at as leprosy, because it is a skin affliction which is contagious.  But contrary to leper colonies, a person with tzara’at had to be completely alone, not able to live with others with the same affliction.  In addition, tzara’at is an affliction that may affect a person’s skin, or a garment, or a house.  Clearly not a contagious skin disease.    (Pardon the interruption:  Camp Gan Israel, the most wonderful and meaningful Jewish summer experience you can give your child, is offering a special discount on Monday.  CGI is for children from Kindergarten to 6 th grade,...

There is one Holiday on the Jewish calendar when we don’t say the blessing Shecheyanu when we light the holiday candles or say Kiddush. This is a blessing of thanks to Hashem that we say whenever we reach an annual event, thanking Hashem for giving us another year and bringing us to this moment. Examples of when we say Shehecheyanu are when we eat a new seasonal fruit for the first time each year and for all Holidays except one. That is the final days of Pesach. Why not?  A basic explanation is that it is not a new event since it is a continuation of the Holiday that began six days ago. As opposed to Shmini Atzeret, the eighth day of Sukkot, which is actually a distinct Holiday from Sukkot. (Pardon the interruption. I am very much looking forward to teaching the course “Jewpernatural,” among other things discussing what Judaism teaches about the occult, evil eye, and supernatural things. Chabadpaloalto.com/JLI .) As in all Torah matters, there is also a deeper explanation that Chas...

  Dena and I wish you and your family a kosher and happy Pesach. May the spirit of the holiday and the message of freedom it brings permeate your entire year. We pray that in addition to the spiritual freedom that this holiday brings, as well as all the beautiful customs - the Matzah and wine, the reading of the Haggadah and the telling of the story of the exodus - that we also merit to see the physical redemption with Moshiach. Though the Seder concludes, "Next Year In Jerusalem," it does not mean that we have to wait till next year. Moshiach can come immediately and next year we will all be In Jerusalem celebrating Pesach together. If you have not yet done so, there is still time to sell your chametz here (until 10PM tonight), and feel free to reply to this email or call me if you have any questions. Enjoy your Pesach!

Last week I heard from many friends who were concerned about losing a lot of money.  I have been thinking this week about what lesson can be learned from a bank’s failure.   The Baal Shem Tov (the saintly founder of the Chassidic movement) said that everything we see or hear teaches us a lesson in our service to Hashem.  Certainly this is true from a catastrophic event which affects so many people and dominates the headlines. When the 2008 big financial crash happened, a person came to me to lament the loss of three million dollars, and to express with great regret: “I could have given it to Tzedakah!”   This statement has been sitting with me ever since.  Had he given the money to Tzedakah, he would likely not only have survived the downturn, but that  $3M sum would have been in his spiritual bank account forever.  As our Sages taught, and as we have seen over the millennia, he would have reaped many material blessings too. There is a fascin...

I hope you enjoyed Purim as much as I did. It was such a great pleasure to see our team of Rabbis and Rebbetzins, along with our staff and many volunteers, bring the joy and the Mitzvot of this great happy day to so many hundreds of people. Now it’s time to prepare for Pesach. If you need hand baked Shmurah Matzah (the fresh stuff) or a Haggadah or a Seder we are here for you. Let’s talk about a Golden Calf. The story really sounds strange. The Jewish people had just had a revelation from Hashem Himself, seen great wonders and miracles and heard His voice saying the Ten Commandments, and they thought an animal made out of gold could be a god?  The whole thing doesn’t make sense that smart people in that situation would go for a molten god. Now we are taught that there were idol worshippers among them that still held onto their old ways. These were Egyptians who had joined the Jews when they left Egypt, known as the mixed-multitude. They were the ones who started the whole thing. We...

What is the name of the Jewish People?  Throughout the Torah, we are called “Bnei Yisrael,” the children of Israel.  We always used to joke in school, what about the adults?  But we are called that because we are descended from our forefather Yisrael, which is Yaakov’s other, greater name.  We are also occasionally referred to as Bait Yaakov – the house of Yaacov, or Yeshurun.   It is striking, therefore, that throughout the book of Esther, which we will read on Monday, Purim evening and again during the day on Tuesday, the Jews are referred to as Yehudim – Judeans.  (This is apparently where the word “Jew” comes from.)   I think that the surface explanation of why the name Yehudim is used is the following:  The Jewish nation was divided into two parts, one kingdom, known as the Kingdom of Israel, in the north of Israel, and the Kingdom of Judea in the South, including Jerusalem.   The Kingdom of Israel had been overrun and exi...